Things I Will Miss

I am not a fan of cliches and one that I dislike in particular is a warning I hear about parenthood often enough: “it goes by so quickly” or “blink and you’ll miss it.” It’s not uncommonly mentioned in the middle a meltdown to help ease the pain. “It can’t go by quick enough” is my usual response. But I understand the inclination to nostalgia. It seems we humans have a tendency to submerge the bad and hype the good. Heck, even here in my journal I tend to only write about the neat things. (Although I do try to bring a glimpse of the bad to light as well.) And, as a historian, I am also attuned to, and fiercely resist a selective memory of the past.That long-winded introduction aside, it did occur to me the other day that there are two things which I will miss terribly when the kids grow out of them: (1) carrying and (2) cuddling. I love the closeness and affection of both. Carrying them either from or to bed, after an injury (usually self-induced), or just to be close is not something that will last much longer either because they'll be too big for me to lift and carry or it won't be cool anymore. I guess we will always have hugs. (I like those a lot, too.)P.S., just as I hit “done” on this post it struck me as odd that I am already writing about or contemplating “things I will miss.” It's odd because it's hardly over, the kids are still quite young, and in a way, it is going quite quick. (Some days not quick enough.)Photo Credit: Lola Morgan